10 New Austin Restaurants To Try

The capital of Texas might be best known for its live music,
but Austin
boasts a food scene that is as equally vibrant and creative. In 2018,
celebrated chefs showed us that culinary finesse doesn’t need to come in the
form of fine dining — the city’s talent snagged eight James
Beard nominations.

The next time you visit, be sure to plan your boot shopping,
two-stepping and bar hopping around meals at these top spots.

You don’t have to go far to stumble upon good Mexican and
Tex-Mex cuisine in Austin, but you won’t find any place quite like Suerte. Last
spring, owner Sam Hellman-Mass and chef Fermín Núñez (formerly of Launderette) launched this concept to
immediate acclaim, including a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant.

Suerte features Mexican cuisine with central Texas ingredients, right down to the heirloom corn used to make the masa that serves as the backbone of the menu. On tap, you’ll find carnitas tlacoyos (stuffed masa patties), confit brisket suadero tacos, goat barbacoa and plenty of vegetarian options, like carrot tostadas and squash tamales.

Start your experience with one of the expertly crafted
cocktails before letting your server guide you through the lengthy list of
“succulent spirits” (tequila, mezcal, raicilla, bacanora and sotol) to
accompany each dish.

The Brewer’s Table’s Ice Cream Cone. Credit: Cultivate PR

The Brewer’s Table
These days, any restaurant worth its literal salt is expected to carry a
selection of craft beer. But true hops lovers will revel in both the microbrew
and the dishes at The Brewer’s Table.

Owner Jake Maddux’s concept transcends pairing and instead
weaves together beer and food in a unique way: kitchen scraps are utilized in
the brewing process and beer byproducts used in the kitchen.

Last spring, chef Clint Elmore brought back his beloved Neapolitan
pizza with the opening of 40 North’s first brick-and-mortar location (the
original venue was a trailer) in a little bungalow in central Austin.

Now with much more kitchen space, the restaurant expanded
its menu to include a porchetta sandwich, an unmissable burger, several crisp
and delicious salads and small plates like labneh
(strained Greek-style yogurt) and olive flatbread.

When the hip Carpenter Hotel opened this fall just a stone’s
throw from Zilker Park, its signature restaurant — and the attached Hot L
Coffee shop — quickly became the talk of the town.

Chef Grae Nonas (formerly of the lauded Olamaie) refines simple classics, like a
lunchtime turkey club or a chicken schnitzel dinner plate, with the best
possible ingredients and a detailed eye for culinary aesthetics. Not to be
missed are the craveable items found exclusively on the late menu, like a melty
griddle burger and hash browns topped with hot pepper Béarnaise and hackleback
caviar.

After your meal, be sure to grab a delectable pastry to go or
linger at the bar with a cocktail or a glass of pét-nat (or pétillant-naturel, a type of sparkling
wine that’s bottled only partially fermented).

This all-day café from the team behind Wright Bros. Brew & Brew is just
one year old and drawing bigger crowds than ever for simple and comforting
dishes done well: hash brown waffles, pastrami-loaded queso, tasso ham biscuits
and one of the city’s best breakfast sandwiches.

The sleek counter-service restaurant, which also offers plenty
of backyard picnic tables, is equal parts coffee shop and bar (as the name
promises), which means you can expect high-quality beans (from Portland-based Heart
Roasters and local Flat Track Coffee) along with well-done draft cocktails and
a wine list that certainly tops any other café in town.

When the partners behind East Austin’s Chinese concept Old Thousand opened this Asian-Pacific-themed
eatery this past summer, they brightened up Second Street with tropical murals
and a fresh and flavorful menu of sushi, maki, temaki and dishes like
pan-seared bream with green mango salad, and banana leaf roasted pork with cantaloupe
relish.

Wednesday through Saturday, a late-night menu provides a
nice post-date accompaniment to a movie at the neighboring Violet Crown
Theater.

The acclaimed toques behind dim sum restaurant Emmer & Rye recently teamed up with
chef Berty Richter of food truck Hummus Among Us to create this Israeli venue. Named
after Tel
Aviv’s airport code, the street food concept has breathed new life into
Fareground, the city’s first downtown food hall.

While not in Austin proper, chef Jacob Hilbert’s newest
venture is well worth the hour drive north to the small town of Salado, Texas.

Here, you will find the type of thoughtful, well-executed
cuisine Hilbert crafted at The Hollow in Georgetown, but now he uses the
environment as his palette, foraging most of the greens and herbs and locally
sourcing the rest.

Order from an à la carte menu or opt for the adventurous
tasting selection, which reads like a poem and features smaller portions of
each beautifully plated creation. For a more casual experience, relax in the
expansive garden patio, order a burger from the outdoor Farmhouse Grill and,
when the sun sets, linger around the fire pits.